Mountain biking can be amazing, but it can be somewhat less amazing when part of your clothing is rubbing you with every stroke of your pedaling. This being the case, wearing the right clothing is an essential part of making sure that you have a great time out on the trail.
However, there are a lot of different temperatures and weathers which can affect what you would be comfortable wearing. What would be good to wear on a trail in the dessert when the temperature is easily 90 degrees and the sun is beating down on you will not be the same as what you should wear if the temperature is literally below freezing when you are going for your ride.
Mountain Biking When It Is Sunny And Hot
Even when the sun and the heat may be the same, there are other factors that can play a part in what you should wear in this weather. Two of these are the wind factor and the humidity. A day where the temperature is 90 degrees can feel a ton hotter if it also happens to be really humid and without a breath of fresh air to help cool you down.
For this reason, you actually have a couple of different options that you can wear which partially depends on the humidity and partially is a matter of personal preference. However, there are a couple of things that stay the same regardless.
The first of these is that you want to avoid cotton and down at all costs. Both of these soak up sweat and hold it against your skin without letting it evaporate easily like it is supposed to do. Even though they might be a little lighter than some of the other options, this is only when they are dry, since when they are wet they can weigh much more.
The kind of fabric that you want to be wearing is wicking fabric that will help your sweat to evaporate as quickly as possible and will keep the air circulating around you. The other thing that you want to make sure that you do is to wear light colors. These, in addition to the right fabric, will help you to stay as cool as possible.
If the humidity is really high while the temperature is hot, it is going to be harder for your sweat to evaporate off of your skin in order to cool you down, therefore a short sleeved shirt and a sunscreen that is preferably sweat proof is usually the way to go in this climate.
On the other hand, if you are going to be riding on trails that are dry and hot, like the trails that you might find in most parts of Utah, then your sweat evaporating will not be something that is likely to be a problem. This is because the sun will almost literally be frying you.
For this reason, in the dry and hot weather you should actually wear a long sleeved shirt. Though you might not think that this would be necessary, you should actually still put on sunscreen on your arms because the sun can still get to you since you will be wearing only a light layer.
Of course, if the temperature is closer to 100 degrees then a long sleeved shirt is really important and might even be worth considering in humid conditions. This is because the temperature that the air is at this point is higher than your normal body temperature is and will only make your skin hotter.
Another thing that you should wear is a neckbandoo or something like it. These are made so that you get them wet with cool water and place them around your neck to keep your neck cool as the moisture evaporates from them. Of course, when it is too humid these don’t work so well, but in the drier climates these can be great.
You also want to wear something on your head that will help to keep the sun off of it. Like your clothing, you do not want this to be a dark color, and you want it wo let your head breathe as much as possible so as not to trap any heat on your head.
Speaking of your head, you will also want to be wearing some form of sunglasses to help diffuse some of that sunlight. You also want to make sure that the sunglasses that you are wearing are also going to be able to handle you sweating without them slipping off of your face.
Perhaps one of the most important things for mountain biking in the heat is that you wear a hydration pack. However, you should not only be hydrating well while you are on the trail, you should keep yourself hydrated around 24 hours before and after your ride.
One great thing to do with a camelback if you know that it will be a hot day is to fill it around halfway up and put it in the freezer the night before, filling it up the rest of the way just before you hit the trails. This will work even if there is no way of putting ice cubes in it and is a great way of helping your water stay cool for longer.
Another great idea if you do not have a camelback, or even if you do, is that you can freeze one or two water bottles before your trip and then carry them close to you in a pocket or somewhere where you can absorb some of their coolness and as they thaw you can drink them.
When it comes to shoes, however tempting it might be to do otherwise, it is usually best to avoid sandals or flip flops. Hot climates can often have a lot of things like cactus, sometimes growing right on the side of the trail, and you do not want to brush against these with a bare foot.
Once again, you should not be wearing cotton socks with your shoes, instead you should go with a synthetic option. The same goes for your shorts or pants. While some of the same arguments for this can be much like they are for the short sleeved or the long sleeved shirt, you can sometimes safely go with a pair of shorts even when you need a long sleeved shirt.
Finally, if you are riding in the heat of summer, try to pick a time as early in the morning as possible. In humid places sometimes the evenings are cool as well, however in dry places the heat is much more likely to last until the sun sets.
Mountain Biking When It Is Cold
Some trails get closed to mountain bikers during the winter, especially if they are used for skiing and other things, so finding a trail can be more difficult at this time of year. There are still some really good options though, so if you are ready to ride straight through the winter then you are going to need to get some certain things to wear for those cold days.
One thing that you should keep in mind is that you will work up some heat of your own as you really start that pedaling. This being the case, a good rule of thumb is that if you feel a little cold still when you are outside getting to your car and getting from your car to the trailhead then you have the perfect amount of clothing on.
In this type of weather wearing too much clothing will make you sweat under all of those layers. This is a very bad thing as that moisture will make you very cold, with the worst thing that you could possibly do while you are out on the trail is to remove one of your layers after you have started to sweat. Instead, if you find that you are getting too warm, stop right away and take a layer off even if it makes you a little cold.
The most important part of you that you should keep warm is your core since this is what keeps your important internal organs warm in order for them to function properly. And, if you don’t keep your core warm, you will end up with hypothermia.
The best way that you can keep your torso warm is by layering. You will want to make sure that your first layer is one that can breathe well, preferably polyester or something like it, so that you are not collecting any moisture near your skin.
The middle layer should have a little bit of breathability, but it should do better at keeping your warmth in. Finally, your outer layer must always have windproof abilities so that the wind cannot literally blow away the warmth that your body is making.
The other really important area for you to focus on keeping warm is your head. Because of all of the blood that your head, and in particular your brain, needs this area can account for around 30 percent of your body heat. The two areas on your head that you will often find the hardest to keep warm are going to be your ears and your nose.
A balaclava is a great thing for you to wear and is something that essentially covers everything but an area around your eyes. Different options can include your head, or it can just cover your nose and mouth area. Whichever one you go with should have some amount of breathability though, or else the hot air you breathe out will fog up your glasses or goggles.
Speaking of goggles, you will need to protect your eyes as well in the cold weather. Sometimes glasses will work fine, but ski goggles are also a great option. Whatever you decide to go with, it is vital that these have anti-glare since the sun will be glaring off of the snow. It is also important that these have some form of anti-fog as well.
Your legs are going to be pretty fine most of the time without much of a need to wear extra layers except for when it gets really low or below freezing. The most important part of your legs to cover are your knees, which need to stay warm in order to move well. However, your feet can get numb with the cold quite easily if you do not take care of them.
There are a variety of things that you can do in order to keep your feet warm, one of which is to get foot covers for your feet. Of course, you will want to be wearing thick socks, woolen ones being some of the best at helping to keep the heat in. In a pinch you can even take some plastic bags and put your feet in them and tie the handles of the bag around your ankles in order to help trap some of the heat in.
While your arms are usually a part that is covered by the sleeves of whatever you are wearing on your torso, this covering does not extend to your hands and wrists most of the time. Your hands are something else that is important for you to bundle up in the cold weather. For the moderately cold weather there are a number of different options that you can choose from. The best ones should have insulation inside them and a wind blocking on the outside to help keep the warmth in.
Certain kinds of ski gloves work just fine for mountain biking and are made for the cold, however for those really cold and windy rides pretty much nothing beats what is called “pogies” or bar mitts. These are insulated mitts that you attach to your handlebars and which cover everything up, including your levers, shifters, grips, etc.
Instead of putting these on your hands, you put your hands and part of your forearms into the mitt. These is a great option for below freezing weather and some of these even have some space in them so that you can put other things like you phone or a snack in them too so that these do not freeze on you.
Finally, make sure that there are no spots around your ankles, wrists, neck, or waist where there might be a way for the cold to find a way in or you will either have to endure the cold spot or stop to tuck something in to fix it. Sometimes rubber bands and things can be used to keep everything where it is supposed to be, just make sure that it is not cutting off your circulation.
Also, use partial layers when you can such as arm warmers, knee or leg warmers, a scarf, and a vest. These can be easily taken off if you feel that you are getting too warm without making you feel cold when you do so. You should also take some of these along with you in case the temperature drops and you find that you need more warmth.
Mountain Biking When It Is Rainy
There are a couple of different ways that you need to prepare for rainy weather, and this is something that largely depends on the temperature. It can be raining when it is quite hot, and it can be also raining at 1 degree above freezing, but both of these will require some very different apparel to each other.
The first thing that you are going to need in rainy weather is goggles. For this situation glasses will not cut it because they will often still allow the rain to fall down from your forehead and into your eyes. In this type of weather you will also be slinging up water from your tires, if not mud as well.
This being the case, it is vital both for your safety and for your comfort that you protect your eyes. The goggles you choose should do a good job of keeping things out of your eyes, let the moisture roll off of them, and should also have anti-fogging properties.
The next thing that you should be wearing is a waterproof and wind proof jacket. If the weather is hot and you are the sort of person who enjoys getting wet, then this is something that is more optional if you are only going for a short ride. However, even if you don’t mind getting wet you should not ride without a rain jacket for a long ride since your wet clothing will start to rub you in spots.
If you are going to be riding in the rain when it is cold, a rain jacket is vital, as is a few other layers underneath the rain jacket for warmth. In warm weather you may be just fine if you wear your usual short sleeved shirt under your rain jacket.
You can wear either shorts or pants, but you will want to be sure that either one you wear is water resistant. The same goes for the shoes that you will be wearing in that these should prevent water from getting into your shoes around your ankle or seeping through the shoe itself.